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this is i will not lose podcast where we set out to prove everything is learned from failure
we must persevere recognize it as one step closer to success i'm your host tony ortiz let's go
god v what do you how do you want to be introduced v school v yeah that's fine
ion of arts right yeah let me give you my spiel my name is vanya but no one ever calls me that
correctly so everyone just calls me v there you go yeah also who are the people who can tell
about the name no i'm not russian oh yeah that's the whole thing all the time just as long as we
get that cleared out of the airwaves because that's what the comments are going to be talking
about though but you're a tattoo artist out of austin texas yes out of austin now but i still
have that studio space over here in pa so pa yeah busy tonight stopped in in between tattoo
appointments to record a pod so you were actually the first shout out on uh like the first episode
of i will not lose yeah first couple yeah i bring you up all the time now definitely grateful for
that appreciate it well we visualized it we we had talked about having some sort of podcast putting
something together like a year before i actually pulled the trigger and did it yep so it's like ah
it can happen and then same thing with you with tattooing you weren't doing it full time like you
are now uh just a year or two ago no yeah i was doing it like part-time and then i was also working
like uh full-time and then after that full-time a part-time job so yeah so it'd either be like
full-time and tattooing or part-time and tattooing how'd you get into tattooing um so i was working
like two part-time jobs and going to school college full-time and um i was just like this
doesn't make sense because my school schedule doesn't match with my work schedule and vice
versa and it's just like this this is just like a vicious cycle so I'm like what what else can I do
um and like I drew a lot in high school and people would ask me to draw stuff all the time
so then I started hearing like can you draw me this tattoo design can you draw me this tattoo
design I'm like all right sure um so then I was like well why don't I just check out like becoming
a tattoo artist since I'm already creating designs um then I went to a couple shops with someone at
the time um because we were both seeking an apprenticeship and then we found a place
that's a whole story um it was for like a couple of months and then it stopped i
parted ways and then uh came back and then parted ways again and then moved to new york
and then moved back to pa and then moved to texas so it was like on and off throughout all of that
um zigzagging yeah so it's like 10 years all together um because 2010 i graduated and then
um in september of that year was when i went to seek that apprenticeship um and then yeah like
yeah so 10 all together and then collectively now like three years and eight months so like
going on 12 but uh that's crazy like just in the last year year and a half you follow you on
instagram your design's got so much crazier like everything from the shading to the line work
i see this stuff now and i can't you promote a lot of other artists too so i'm like oh she's
promoting another artist i'm like oh wait that's b like oh that's crazy yeah oh yeah yeah i um
yeah so like i don't know i'm very supportive of like a lot of other people's paths and it
doesn't really cost me nothing to kind of like hey check out this person that can tattoo in a
style that I can't you know what I mean so it's like I feel like you know the people that I share
like majority of them is like having relationships with them whether it is just through social media
or like knowing them in real life um but it's like bro I believe in you like you know what I mean and
yeah so I end up sharing a lot of artists it's like things that I enjoy seeing too so
but yeah no thank you um I think all that changed because of the shop that I work for now
and just the amount of i would say like the amount of business they have and like the name that they
created for themselves so it's blindside tattoos in austin and i think the shop that i'm working
at the location i should say because the owner has three shops um oh nice yeah well all right
so two shops and then another partner um so essentially three but the shop that location
that i'm working at is their original shop location so i guess in october like on halloween
it's gonna be like their 18th year in business 18 yeah 18th year what yeah yeah so it's like
i work at that location and then there's another one on another street and like so on but um yeah
the amount of walk-ins is a is a good amount especially like closer to the weekends um so
from there it's just kind of like making appointments or like seeing if people want
to come back offering deals sales whatever it is like so it's it's a it's a a career choice
similar to a job like the difference between a job and a career is like careers you love what
you do right so it's like every job that i've had kind of like has helped me some of them
fortunately some of them unfortunately um but all of those experiences from all of those jobs have
like collectively helped me to be able to work full-time at a shop so then like actually the
other day i was sitting there reflecting i'm like oh damn like after or while i was in college and
then after i left i left because this is what i wanted to do and i'm like oh shoot like i'm i'm
actually doing that yeah like yeah but before check in every now and then heck yeah yeah you
gotta reflect see that you hit your goals i have mine written down over there because i was uh
otherwise i'll just cruise on by just be like oh yep the show's been on for a year and yeah in
order to grow you got to have like some kind of goals I know I have like a couple of notebooks
one of the artists at the shop is like oh you don't get tired of writing I'm just like no
because I'll write like in a schedule book I'll write in a journaling book and then also like
after certain tattoos which I would say would be the bigger ones I'll like actually document
what did I go through while I was tattooing this person in this session so like how did I feel
about this um if something upset me as far as like my performance on the within the tattoo it's like
how can i change that or like what should i research or like what should i try and like
look into now kind of thing yeah so it's like reflecting in several different ways and then
also just like just being mindful as far as like growth because it's like we can sit there and be
like oh well this one didn't come out so good maybe i'll do better on the next one but like
how are you gonna do better you know i mean so yeah i guess i do write a lot but um yeah i mean
i think i also write too and i just started journaling because prior to getting into blindside
um i took a mentorship with another tattoo artist and uh his name is andy foe so i learned
like within that mentorship not only just like things about tattooing but also like in addition
to things like being aware of things about self so it's like you know what are some of the things
that you deal with and go through and then it's like how can you be better which is like a synopsis
or like a majority of a lot of the conversations that I've had with him as far as like personal
development and like growth so one of the things too was like he's on his own journey you know what
I mean so something that has helped him is journaling so it's just like maybe this might
help you too and if you're the type of person that i am because like everyone's connected and
like you are around people that reflect you not as far as like doing the same exact like
thing for a career as them but like as far as like tendencies habits thoughts and like just
what you're manifesting on a certain type of level right whether it's good or bad so it's like
everyone around you is a reflection of you so it's like here here's something that helped me
maybe it might help you um so journaling was one of those things which is like I guess why I write
a lot now but yeah I mean it does that also is something that helps because like well because
in between I just made a word right there because in between like the the traveling because like
I work in Austin right but I still decided to keep my shop space up here because again like
as part of my bigger dream was like i want to travel to tattoo and not even just that but like
i want to like build my clientele so it's like technically i'm traveling i mean i'm not traveling
anywhere new because i'm just going back and forth but it's like i'm traveling to tattoo still
nonetheless super dope yeah it doesn't matter if you're going even if you're going back and forth
to the city next door and left off the plane from dallas yep came to no austin austin okay i'm sorry
texas to me texas is not to me texas is a neighborhood but you got you flew from austin
to jersey went to new york checked out this art festival now you're here doing a podcast and then
going to go and tattoo yeah that is super cool yes thank you appreciate that yeah um visiting
here in between tattooing um the art show was cool like I was saying um I'm not sure what year
this is for I don't know if it's fourth or fifth because the whole COVID thing and like just
messing up uh my recollection of what year this show is in but I've gone ever since my first time
going was their second years but I've gone every year since um but yeah it's just a bunch of people
that enjoy like either collecting toys or creating toys so it's like some people like would showcase
ideas that they came up with and then like they'll some hand make their toys um some work with other
companies like get it made into a vinyl um some like work with other companies that like specialize
in dealing with a certain like type of finish of the toy so i'm not like too well versed as far as
like the finishes but the different coatings yeah i wouldn't say coatings i would say like
the methods of making these toys so some are 3d printed um some are vinyls some are resin
like stuff like that some are clay like whatever medium it is stuffed animals whatever medium it
is it's like just everyone who does that kind of stuff coming together um but then there's also
stores that just sell toys so they'll have like their booths up of like the toys that they sell
that are from other bigger artists that are like not at the show um so it's like pretty cool i
think if you are familiar with like sneaker conventions it's like similar to that but just
toys not sneakers so they'll have like not but i wish i was damn like i see i see when people
i see when people get excited about sneakers and i'm like man i wish i had that passion for it they
have their whole value behind it so toys have like a value they do like limited runs and stuff yeah
i'm familiar with like uh like pokemon cards or other collectibles like uh brian yaunt that i had
on here is in the disc golf did you did you hear that episode i did hear some of it i didn't hear
it fully but yes um i try my very best to watch if i don't watch here every episode but um yeah i
mean everyone has a different passion so once you're involved in that world that's like that's
now your world that you're in like you're a part of you know i mean like but it's community um but
yeah i mean all right so it would be similar to like people that collect like or collected
baseball cards or like cars like actual cars so it's like the value comes from like the people
like the people who value it does that make sense yeah okay yeah so it's pretty cool like um one of
the other main reasons that i go to is because um in this first year that i went the second year of
the show they had an artist there and um i don't know i was just chilling in the back kind of
grabbed a beer at one of the like food trucks and then i was just chilling in the back there um and
so he was like painting so I was watching because I actually had started um following him on
Instagram because it was like being very big into like the graffiti culture at the time when I was
like way more passionate about it um so I had noticed and I noticed that he was there so yeah
he just kind of like sat down and said what's up and then we just came like mad cool ever since
yeah so like every year I see him and it's like also very cool to see his growth um so his name's
well I don't know if he wants me to tell you his real name but his nickname is CZ um so he goes by
like CZ13 um but yeah to have watched his growth is like really cool too so it's like he started
with like just one character um one like solid base character and then from there it's just grown
into like different variations of this character different variations with collaborations with
other artists for this character and it's like it's just like this evolution of a person so it's
like pretty cool to go to be able to support that um and then also see whatever else is around
because it is a side passion of mine and a passion project also so it's just like getting
re-inspired and re-motivated to like remember that like this is also where you want to be so
like sometimes people are like oh you're probably doing too much and it's like but am i well that
was your business when i first met you was lost stuffs the toy company right so i mean i don't
know yeah to me you've always been doing it you've always been super interesting in terms of
different endeavors that you have going on i think you listen too much to the haters i guess i mean
i don't know i mean in my sometimes i mean i get the the basis of the advice which is like focus
on one thing um but it's like let's be realistic to a certain degree anyway right so it's like yeah
i can focus on one thing but then it's just like i don't know i'm an artist so like getting bored
quick of things or like wanting to work a little bit on this over here and when i get tired of this
let me work a little bit on this over here you know what i mean but as long i feel like they say
focus on one thing at a time um because then you'll be stronger in that subject but it so
technically it is of the same subject matter because it's art so it'd be like tattooing and
then like making my toys i came up with these toys while i was tattooing because i had to make
original designs and i'm like a big child so i chose to do like a cartoon kind of theme and then
had another friend that like hit me up and they were like shout out to tubs it was like yo you
should make these into toys and i'm like yeah i'll think about it and then um i i it was kind of like
just always in the back of my head um so again it's like tattooing and the toys were like very
is they're like very in conjunction with each other as part of like my story it's your outlet
for creativity like the nowadays with all the tools to create i think if you just create one
thing is very one-dimensional like even with like like music you know it has to have a visual behind
independent yeah matter of fact that's a crazy plug that you you said a shout out to tubs i just
messaged him about an hour ago um i want to take his uh beats and do like visualizers or something
oh yeah yeah that'd be dope a way to create or do some he didn't respond back yet so i'm really
throwing him out there but uh what's good man shout out to tubs probably working in the lab
or something yeah for real but that's nuts so you've been you uh i wish you could have made
it yesterday was that empower 610 day with a whole bunch of hip-hop performances yeah you
were in the music scene local music scene yeah i knew a couple of people yeah i knew a couple of
people um and then also i guess predominantly it came from um having a connection to everyone
knows him as jack nine so i forget initially how i met him i don't know if it was like for
i think it was for like a video casting call thing um and then i kind of like maintained
the relationship with him but he knew only to call me for like a certain to play a certain
type of character in videos not to be like doing too much in these things you know what i mean that
would like not give me a bad name but it's like like what is what is it really for so it was like
yeah not the brand um yeah good times um but yeah yeah so i like stayed in uh communication
and contact with him for a while and then you just call me for like gigs and stuff like that so
that's how it's how that connection to like that whole video scene is but
yeah just like remembering everything is like wow like i have been through a lot man that's crazy
so listen man we got the power to visualize something and i like how you were saying over
the three four years it's not like a straight process there's pitfalls along the way you know
what i mean like this is uh all about acknowledging those pitfalls and like recognizing it okay it's
going to move us closer to success but people try to paint the picture too much like oh you know
I've done this and I've been doing it for six months and now it's going to be huge I mean
I don't know even with uh with the podcast with expectations that I have with this
I do want to design a set though yeah you should uh when we get off the air we should talk about
that order of pizza or something and use mid-journey go from there dude mid-journey is
crazy like yeah like uh you were showing me uh what was that cow it was uh it was a highland
baby cow it was a highland baby cow tell this story i'll put the if you send it to me i'll put
it up there all right um all right damn hey man it is what it is it's just the way the world's
turning all right so boom mid-journey amazing um normally i feel like like i was telling you like
if i have the conversation with other artists a good percentage of them are aware of what mid
journey is if i have a conversation with like people that are not artists i'll just say that
i don't want to get caught slipping being impolitically correct um but yeah so people
that are not artists are not really too familiar with it so it's just like all right well have you
heard of chat gpt and then they're like yeah it's like all right well there's just like an artistic
version of that that's happening yeah it's chat gpt for art yeah exactly that's a great way to
put it like and it was out before i was using mid journey before chachi bt came out yeah and
i don't know but yeah for my listeners who aren't familiar with mid journey you literally just type
a prompt in and it draws it or creates it uh it's a lot of controversy on how it creates it or what
but it's an original piece of artwork it samples artwork that's out there it's look it's funny we
we need to have this conversation here's the conversation we need to have this conversation
because isn't everything you do derivative of right something else right I mean well so I feel
like that is an element that has stunted my growth because I was always like I don't want to copy
anyone and it's just like well it's necessary to a degree so yeah I get what you're saying there
honestly I don't feel that an artist is well I don't know at least speaking for myself as an
artist i don't try to have a style and i can't see it but when other people see my work they're
like you have a style i can tell that's your stuff i don't know if it's certain things i do
habits that i have over but i think it's a curation of all the stuff that inspires me
you know what i mean like hip-hop motivation self uh self-growth like that stuff all kind of spills
out into the artwork that i do so i don't know like you you could recognize somebody else's
style and be like i want to take something from that and you could tribute it and you could be
original not out here but they say what uh what do they say good artists borrow great artists steal
or something like that or like uh what is it um something is a is a form of flattery invitation
is the highest form of flattery there's that quote and it's just like but it depends on what
you're imitating and like your intention behind that imitation because sometimes it's not flattering
at all like it's like sometimes you just bite it that was the one they call it like biting it's
like when they try to like make remakes to movies nowadays just not the same like at all so it's
like similar to that i guess you uh you saw a little mermaid no i haven't i don't know if i
want to oh no i don't know if i want that from a bunch of people yeah i mean i get it you know
what i mean and and i just haven't seen it because it's just a real life person i'm used to the
cartoon i'm a big kid you know that you can really make anime you can make expressions happen bro
she did a phenomenal job you seen it yeah i saw it i mean all right with with a good couple
recommendations i'll i'll check it out but it's just like oh man but like it was a cartoon and
i guess like sometimes turning a cartoon into like a real life thing is kind of cool like
i think they did it with no did they do it with the simpsons i don't know they made a movie with
the simpsons but like turning them into real life simpsons i think it was an artist that did that
so they like what yeah bro so this guy i forget the name i don't actually i forget the gender
also i don't know if it's i let's not all right this artist this artist right he'll take like uh
like pop cultural animation icons and turn them into like or gives you a version and
you might be using mid journey too of like what they might look like as like people i did see
something like this yeah so um damn yeah but it's just similar i thought you meant like a home movie
like like homer no no that would be wild there's an idea for uh filmmakers that would be gross
actually that would be it would be interesting it'd be so much i want to see what that donut
looks like i would like to see this is probably the one they sell at dunkin yeah beer oh man
but i love the world of creation i just got a whole bunch of stuff um i gotta hop back on
crunchy roll i haven't oh i love crunchy roll i haven't spent a bunch of time on there i don't
spend i don't i don't uh have as much time digesting other people's content music i do
music i will but like in terms of watching tv or other filmmaker stuff uh i try to i try there's
just so much there's just so much and like you want to watch what everybody's talking about but
then at the same time i still have stuff that i want to watch like i still want to watch the
Sopranos oh damn you never finished that I never started well I might have started it I guess you
guys started that and Mad Men Mad Men Mad Men is good I did like Mad Men you know all right so I'll
be real with you like I feel like when I watch seasons series and episodes like continuous
oh like continuous things um I don't really like go all the way through like sometimes parts bore
me so like the beauty of fast forwarding and also just like skipping and then like I'll have it play
in the background so i'm not like really paying attention to it but it's just playing but by the
time i watch the next episode i can still piece it together a little bit so like i guess technically
i didn't watch the sopranos the full way through either i don't know i'm not one of those people
that like watches the show to like recall things and go out and like play a trivia game and like
get everything right i just like watch it to enjoy it and like just get just get the point
damn then i really appreciate you listening to the show then especially if you're a completionist
for for this content but yeah yeah this is gonna be dope uh people are gonna be excited those who
have been following the whole way are gonna be excited to digitally meet you um i want to put
up some of your work i don't know if there's any specific piece that means a bunch to you that you
could send me i'll throw it up in post that's hard damn that's hard like it's like some i tell
some of my clients like i feel like i say like every piece is my fate like my new favorite and
it's just like because i did it that day so it'd be my new favorite until like my next one comes
and like as far as like the bigger color pieces or like the more heartfelt emotionally connecting
ones kind of thing it's hard all right i don't know just run the instagram feed and yeah i was
gonna i don't want to have to like i'm gonna screen record i'm gonna screen record the
instagram feed and go through stuff but um yeah no that would be dope for sure i want to promote
you and it was it was funny i think you had said something like you wanted to get further along
before you came on the show oh yeah yeah i'm like what are you talking about i don't know uh
but keep growing keep doing what you're doing we should uh grab some food or do something there
yeah my dog's bugging me as well too so i feel that i'm gonna close us out of here
is there anything you want to promote this is our chance for announcements um yeah i mean i would
promote you with this podcast for sure um so people can kind of like not feel alone you know
what i mean like and not feel just the the burden and the weight of perfectionism um that doesn't
exist so like that that would be one shout out um i want to thank my mom and my dad no i'm sorry
yeah i mean the shop that i'm working at obviously because i'm working there like if you're in austin
come through um if you're out here figure it out i'm down to die you too and alan down but um
yeah i don't know man i feel like shout out everything every day shout out to god and all
that that's a whole nother conversation like that let me not do that one either um yeah i think
that'd be it as far as shout outs go that's super dope i don't know if anything coming up it's been
a big weekend it's gonna be a lit summer though man there's so much coming on going to a couple
of comedy shows oh nice where are you going to schultz he's coming no to wind creek what
normally usually all right so usually i say like damn you know they have it bad if they're coming
to wind creek but that one that's you know you got it good if you're coming to wind yeah he was
doing he's doing that in an arena so i'm excited that's cool he's another one i like seeing the
growth and checking in with stuff yeah he's hilarious he's like turning into like a little
cameo movie star now yeah super dope all right i'm gonna stop talking i talk a lot
all right man this is i will not lose podcast where we set out to prove everything is learned
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